Method of and apparatus for steering vessels.



J. F. KEY

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR STEERING VESSELS. APPLICATION FILE-D SEPT. 19, 1911.

1,065,142, Patented June 17, 1913.

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WITNESSES l/VVE/VTOR ,4 TTORNEYS COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CD4, WASHINGTON, D4 c J. P. KEY. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR STEERING VESSELS. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19,1911.

1,065,142, Patented June 17,1913.

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, METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR STEERING VESSELS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19, 1911.

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UNITED STATES PATENT @FFIGE.

JAMES FRANCIS KEY, 01: MANILA, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR STEERING VESSELS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J arms FRANCIS KEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Manila, Philippine Islands, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Method of and Apparatus for Steering Vessels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is an improvement in method and apparatus for steering vessels, and has for anobject to provide for the steering of vessels by varying respectively opposing fluid pressures; and the invention consists in the method 'and in the construc tions, combinations and arrangements of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of an apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation of a somewhat similar apparatus in which instead of governing the power of the engine through the aid of the first receiver pressure, it is governed by the speed of the engine. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the controller shown in Fig. 1. Fig. A is a cross section on about line 4l1 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 illustrates a different form of controller.

In the construction shown in Fig. 1, A and B are designed to illustrate twin compound engines having throttle valves A and B, and first receivers A and B being the receivers between the primary and secondary cylinders of the engine. In this class of engines the power of the engine is, approximately, in proportion to the pressure in the first receiver, and in the construction shown in Fig. l I secure an operation of the throttle by varying respectively, two opposing fluid pressures, one of said fluid pressures being the pressure received through pipes A and B on one side of a diaphragm C of the regulator C, and the other one of said opposing pressures beingreceived through a pipe A or B", from a suitable source of supply and varied either manually or automatically, or both as more fully described hereinafter. Variations in these pressures on opposite sides of the diaphragm operate through a pilot valve at D, by means of the piston E and an adjustable and releasable connection at E with the throttle valve A to operate the throttle valve to increase or decrease the feed of steam to the engine and Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 19, 1911.

PatentedJune 1'7, 1913.

Serial No. 650,148.

thus secure an operation of the respective propellers A and B in such relation as to properly steer the boat.

I-Iand levers A and B are provided so the engineer can directly operate the throttle whenever desired and pop valves A B with whistles A and B are provided in the pipes A and B so the engineer can limit the speed independently of the controller F, presently described.

At A and B duplex pressure gages of usual construction are provided for indicating the pressures on opposite sides of the regulators.

Pressure from any suitable source, such for instance as a reservoir G, see F 1, is supplied through a pipe G to the pipes A, B", a throttle valve H being provided which may be operated to permit a small continuous fiow past the valves presently described, a duplex pressure gage I being provided to indicate the pressure in the pipes A and B as shown.

The controller includes means for releasing the pressure in the pipes A and B leading to the regulators of their respective engines, and these controlling means may be as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, or they may be as illustrated in Fig. 5, and more fully described hereinafter.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive the pipes A" and B communicate through pipes A and B with a casing F having ports A- and 13 upon which are seated valves A and B, which are operated in their seats by screws A and B upon which are keyed worm wheels A and and threaded worm wheels A and B. The worm wheels A and B are meshed with a worm F on a shaft F and the worm wheels A and B are meshed with the worms A and B on a shaft F.

The shaft F' may be operated to decrease or increase the pressure upon the ball valves A and B and may thus be termed the speed shaft, while the shaft F may be turned to increase the pressure of one of the valves A B and to release the other pressure thus varying the pressure on opposite sides of the controller to secure the steering of the vessel by varying the speeds of the propellers A and B and the shaft F may therefore be termed the steering shaft, and it will be noticed the gage I will indicate at all times the pressures in their respective pipes A and B to aid the operator in steering the vessel.

In the pipes A", A and B, B are con-- nected branches A and B coupling with pipes it and B revolving with the crank shafts and having vents controlled by alves A. and B held to their seats by springs A, 13 secured at one end at A and B in connection with the propeller so that their other ends, which hold the valves to their seats, will be thrown outward by centrifugal action when the propeller moves faster than the normal or usual speed. By this construction, when the propeller races, the valves A or B will be released and pres sure will escape thus permitting the opposing pressure, for instance, that from the receiver it? or B in the construction shown in Fig. l, to operate the regulator to adjust the pilot valve to operate the respective throttle valve in such manner as to reduce the steam supply in the engine, and thus understood by those skilled in the art.

In the controller F, the gears and threads being duplicated, it is obvious that the rotation of the steering shaft F in one direction will cause one gear to turn clockwise and the other gear counter-clockwise thereby increasing the tension of one of the springs between the screws It and B and their respective valves and diminishing the pressure of the other springs, thus affecting the speeds of the engines to secure the steering as desired... The speed shaft F by turning both its gears in the same direction will increase or diminish. the pressures of both sides uniformly thus controlling the speed of the vessel.

ln Fig. 5, I show a ditlerent form of controller, which may in some instances, be used instead of that shown in Fig. 4t. In the con struction shown in Fig. 5, plugs J and J are arranged to be operated uniformly or variably in order to control the speed, or to vary the res 'iective pressures in the pipes leading to the port and star-btmrd engines in such manner as to secure the steermg of the. vessel as will be understood from Fig. 5, it being understood that the initial pressure being on. the inner ends of the plugs, and the zero or atmospheric pressure being at the outer ends thereof, any intern'iediate pressure may be obtained by varying the positions of the plugs which may be c'l'l eeted by the screw construction shown in. said figure, the pr sure continuously leaking past said plugs in the operation of the apparatus.

The d uplex gages it and. B in the engine shown will. indicate the controller pres sure and the pressure on the other side of the diaphragm, thus enabling the engineer to balance the two pressures by the hand throttle at A or B by first cutting out the automatic gear.

By the described construction, it will be noticed I am able to control the operation of the twin engines by varying respectively, opposing fluid pressures and in carrying out this idea I vary relatively the opposing fluid pressures and I utilize the variations in pressure for throttling the engine, this being an important feature of my invention and while in the construction shown in Fig 1, one of the opposing fluid pressures is the pressure from the first receiver of the engine, itwill. be understood that I may carry out my invention by the construction shown in Fig. 2, in which the speed is governed by an air pressure controlled by a governor mechanism or release device on the propeller shaft and comprising sprin s 1 and 2 operating upon the valves in a manner obvious from the said IF 2, and the description of the parts A and 13 before given, so the centrifugal action upon the springs and their weights will operate to release the pressure in pipes leading to one side of the regulator diaphragm as opposed to the pressure received on the other side of the diaphragm from a controller, the regulator operating the di'lterent-ial reversing valves of small steering gear engines I: and L which in turn control the throttles by means of the worm gear. In this construction the fluid pressure to pipes M and N, and M and N may be filled from the same reservoir 0 or from separate reservoirs as may be found most convenient in the use of the invention.

In the broad features of my invention, it will be noticed I provide in combination with a compound engine or engines fluid pressure o ierated means connected therewith for controlling the pressure of the on gino and in the specific el'nbodiment shown in Fig. l, I connect the means for controlling the engine with the said engine beyond its prin'iary cylinder in order to regulate the power of the propeller by the aid of the pressure in the said first receiver, and in the several. constructions it provide in connection. with the engine a fluid pressure regulator connected at one side of the re ceiver of the engine, and at its other side with a source of fluid pressure together with means for varying the pressure on said side of the regulator whereby to vary the pressure of the engine.

it may be desirable in some instances, as shownv in Fig. 'l, to provide a series of controlleis, see the duplicate controller F .onneeted with the pipes A and B" at different p:. ints, say one F upon the bridge of the vessel, and the other F at a remote point, so that if one becomes disabled, or if the pipes A or B between the two controllers become broken from any cause or it desired to manipulate the pressure from difterent points of the vessel, one or the other of the controllers may be brought into play, suitable valves being provided whereby to out out their respective controllers, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

In Fig. 1, I illustrate springs P and P connected with their respective rods leading from the diaphragm ot the regulators and adapted to yieldingly hold the said rod in its normal or neutral position and to restore it to such position when it is moved out of the same by variations in pressure, and the -)ressure is subsequently equalized.

It will be understood in the construction shown in F l, where the first receiver pressure is utilized, that the receiver pres sureand the controller pressure vary directly as to power, as when the receiver pressure is increased relatively, the power is also increased; while in the apparatus shown in Fig. 2, the speed varies inversely as to pressure so that when the speed of the engine increases the controller pressure decreases.

lllanit'estly the improvement may be applied to turbines without departing from all of the principles of my invention.

In the operation of the construction shown in Fig. 1, it will be understood that the cut out valves for whichever controller it is desired to utilize may be closed and pressure supplied until the whistles in connection with the pop-oil valves blow, thus indicating to the engineer that the desired pressure established within the pipes.

Means may be provided to prevent any upward movement of the worm wheels A and 13, and this may be carried out by forming the top plate with depending bosses bearing upon or against the upper sides of the said worm wheels as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

The main difliculty in steering a ship by means of two screws is not so much in being able to change a course as it is to hold one. Aside from the direct and accurate control from the bridge it is also essential that a constant ratio between the two propelling powers be automatically maintained. lVhen a screw is brought near the surface of the water, its effective propelling power is diminished due to increased slip notwithstanding that practically the same amount of steam is being supplied to the engine, its receiver pressure will also drop and the engine will speed up.

W ith the relative depth of water over the propellers changing. it is obvious that the ratio between the two effective propelling powers will vary and thereby change the ships course; a proof of this is in that a single screw ship steers easier in a sea than a twin screw ship. lVith an increased slippage of the propeller, the receiver pressure drops, the action of which on the diaphragm causes an increased supply of steam .to the engine, thereby compensating for the slip of the propeller, and for the same reason the decreased slip is compensated for. It is therefore obvious that the apparatus shown in Fig. 2, will tend to automatically maintain a constant average ratio between the two effective propelling powers.

The emergency governor on the end of the shaft in Fig. 1 is only intended to operate at an excessive speed such as might be caused by breaking the tail shaft or by the propeller coming out of the water. \Vhen the pro-- peller comes near the surface or partly above it, the increase of speed so caused would not be sutlicient to operate the emergency governor; but such increased speed would be further increased by the action of the diaphragm and thereby compensate for the increased slip.

It will be understood that the eitective propelling power is thrust produced by the propeller.

The etiective power of a marine turbine engine or a compound reciprocating marine engine varies with (1) the quantity of motive fluid passing through them which in case of the turbine may be due to the position of the nozzle valves and in the case of the reciprocating engine may be due to the position of the link motion; (9.) the variation of speed due to racing; (8) initial pressure; and l) the final pressure. It is therefore evident that the efiective power of an engine cannot be controlled by controlling any one of these factors. For this reason, I control the intermediate pressure which remains practically proportional to the etlective power of the engine regardless of variations in the above factors.

I claim 1. The hereindescribed method of steering vessels which consists in opposing fluid pressures to the pressures of twin engines, simultaneously varying said fluid pressures relatively, automatically maintaining a balance of pressure between the engine pressures and their respective controlling pressures and utilizing the variations in pressures for governing the powers of the engines.

2. The herein described method of steering vessels consisting in controlling the operation of twin engines by opposing fluid pressures to the pressures of the engines, varying said fluid pressures relatively, and utilizing the variations in pressures for governing the powers of the engines.

3. The combination of twin engines, means for opposing fluid pressures to the pressures of the engines, means for varying said fluid pressures relatively, and means for utilizing the variations in fluid pressures for governing the powers of the engines.

L. The combination wit-h twin engines of regulators, pilot valves connected with the regulators cit their respective engines, connections between the pilot valves and their respective engine throttles, means for delivering engine pressures on one side'of the respective regulators, mains for delivering pressures from an independent source to the other side of the regulators, and means for varying said delivered pressures relatively whereby to cause the regulators to operate the pilot valves controlling the throttles, substantially as set forth.

The combination of a pair of twin engines having throttles, regulators corresponding to their respective engines, intermediate device. between said regulators and their engine hrottiles, means for conducting the pre ire oil? the engines to one side of their respective regulators, an independent source of prcssu re, and means connecting the same with the other sides of the regulators, and means for varying the latter pressures relatively, substantially as set forth.

(3. The combinationot twin engines,means tor op nising fluid pressures to the pressures of the engines, a gage for indicating the relation between the opposing fluid pressures, means :t'or varying the said fluid pressures relatively, means for utilizing the variations in fluid pressures for governing the powers of the engines, and gages influenced by the pressures of their respective engines and by the opposing fluid pressures for indicating when said pressures are balanced.

T. The combinationof twin engines, means tor opposing tluid pressures to the pressures of the engines, means for simultaneously 'arying said lluid pressures relatively, and means for utilizing the variations in tluid pressures tor governing the powers of the engines.

8. The rouihination with an engine, ot a regulator, a source oi? ltuid pressure on one side oi? said regulator. a source of fluid pres sure en the other side of said regulator, a propeller, and means operated from the propeller ior rrl aising cue o'l said pressures, whereby the said pressure may be released by an excessive speeding of the propeller, and intermediate devices between the regulate and the engine wherclrv the regulator may operate to control the engine.

9. The combination of twin engines,means for opposing fluid pressures to the pressures of the engines, means for simultaneously varying said fluid pressures relatively, and means for automatically maintaining a bal ance of pressures between the engine pressures and their respective controlling pressures, and means for utilizing the variations in fluid pressures for governing the powers of the engines.

10. The combination with twin engines, of pressure regulators in connection with their respective engines, sources of fluid pressure on one side of said regulators, pres sure pipes leading to the other sides of said regulators, and a controller connected with said pipes, and having means for releasing the pressure from the respective pipes, and devices controlling said meai'is, substantially as set tor'h.

11. The combination with a pair of pressure pipes, of a controller having valves adapted to permit the escape of pressure from their respective pipes, springs acting upon said valves, means whereby the tension oi said springs may be varied uniformly, and means whereby the tension of said springs may be varied relatively 12. The combination with a pair of pressure pipes, of a controller having valves adapted to permit the escape of pressure from their respective pipes, springs acting upon said valves, screw rods operating upon said springs, worm wheels threaded on said rods, worm wheels keyed on said rods, and means opera ting upon the said worm wheels whereby one set of worm wheels may be operated to turn the screw rods, and the other to move the screw rods longitudinally, substantially as set forth.

The combination in an apparatus substantially as described with a pair of automatic tluid pressure regulators, and means operated therelrv, oi pipes leading to said regulators, a. plurality oil fluid pressure controllers in connection with said pipe, and means whereby one of said controllers may be cut. out of operation.

Jiv l'vil E H l li riNt l S K E Y. Witnesses ime.

A. tinucilius'r, Armin, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, "D. (3. 

